British Championships, Day 4 Prelims: Ollie Morgan Heads 50 Back After 100 Record & Epic Man United Drama
Ollie Morgan is back in the water the morning after elevating himself into the top 15 all-time following his British 100 back record of 52.12 at the Aquatics GB Swimming Championships.
The Olympic finalist goes in the 50 back. Eva Okaro went third all-time in the British 50 free rankings in 24.48 to book herself a trip to the Singapore worlds and she goes in the 50 fly.
Jacob Peters goes in the 100 fly a year after missing out on a place at Paris 2024 and Duncan Scott appears in the 200IM in which he has been preselected for the World Championships following his silver medal at the Olympics.
Katie Shanahan returns from her 100 back victory to take on the 200 in which she was fifth in Paris while Holly Hibbott heads the 400 free.
The meet doubles as trials for the World Championships which run in Singapore from 27 July to 3 August.
To qualify for worlds, a swimmer must finish first in an Olympic event and record a time that equals or betters those in the table below. Athletes that finish second in a time equal or better than that in the table will be considered for selection to a team that will have a maximum of 30 athletes.
Swimmers that have so far qualified this week are Morgan (100 back), Max Litchfield (4IM), Richards (100 free) and Scott (200 fly) and the 4×1 free relay among the men. Jacob Mills was inside the cut for the 100 free in second.
Freya Colbert (200 free), Angharad Evans (200 breast), Okaro (50 free), Abbie Wood (4IM) and Keanna MacInnes (200 fly) have all qualified while Colbert also took second inside the cut in the 400IM.
- Start Lists/Results
- Selection Policy
- Preview: Angharad Evans
- Preview: Ollie Morgan
- Aquatics GB YouTube Channel
- BBC Sport website/iPlayer
- Day 1 Prelims Report
- Day 1 Men’s Final
- Day 1 Women’s Finals
- Day 2 Prelims Report
- Day 2 Women’s Finals
- Day 2 Men’s Finals
- Day 3 Prelims Report
- Ollie Morgan Demolishes British 100 Back Record In 52.12
- Day 3 Women’s Finals
- Day 3 Men’s Finals
Men’s 50m Backstroke
Morgan was the only man inside 25secs in 24.76 with Jonny Marshall booking the adjacent lane in 25.09, the morning after missing out on the 100 cut by 0.01. The 21-year-old returned to his accommodation after his record-breaking swim at the London Aquatic Centre where he managed around four hours sleep although Manchester United’s match-winning exploits in the Europa League made any rest difficult. The Premier League side came from 4-2 down against Lyon with six minutes of added time remaining to win 5-4 and reach the semifinals.
“You try your best,” Morgan told Swimming World. “Try and do what you normally do. I didn’t help with the score for the Man United game last night – I was ready to settle down and I was going mental in my Airbnb running round the kitchen. I didn’t really know what to do with myself. So that didn’t help but just watched it back about five times, just wicked.”
Women’s 50 Fly
Okaro returned to the water to book lane four in 26.57 ahead of world 200 fly champion Laura Stephens (26.70) and Ciara Schlosshan (26.90).
Men’s 100 Fly
Ed Mildred is enjoying a fine week with his career blossoming following his move to Manchester Performance Centre where he’s coached by Ryan Livingstone. The 22-year-old was second in the 200 fly and eighth over 100 free before returning to book lane four in a PB of 51.75 ahead of Peters (51.86). The pair were the only men inside 52secs with a showdown to come this evening as both men seek a world spot. Nick Finch was the next qualifier in 52.47.
Women’s 400 Free
British women have enjoyed great success in the eight-length event with Becky Adlington, Jazz Carlin and Jo Jackson all on the Olympic podium. However, since Carlin retired, there has been little in the way of legacy to see as yet. The spotlight has been trained on Amelie Blocksidge who only turned 16 last week. She won the 1500 earlier this week and booked lane four for the 400 in 4:15.67 with Hollie Wilson, older by a year, alongside her in 4:17.03.
Men’s 200IM
Duncan Scott has already been selected for this event in Singapore courtesy of his silver behind Leon Marchand in Paris. The eight-time Olympic medallist posted 1:59.99 in the final prelim alongside fellow Scot Matt Ward (2:00.15).
The Olympics are now back on a four-year cycle – after three years separated Tokyo and Paris – and the worlds on their regular two-year schedule after global meets in 2022, 2023 and 2024. The University of Stirling swimmer says this post-Olympic year offers an opportunity to explore new events or approaches while recognising that the sport waits for no man with European waters awash with world and national records in recent days.
“I guess so but on the other hand you don’t want to take your foot off the gas, you don’t want to get complacent,” he said. “You start doing that, you start going backwards in the world. It’s so competitive at the minute as well. It can be a year of exploring things and trying out different ideas and different techniques, different strategies perhaps as well or new events like the 2 fly. Definitely a year for learning that’s for sure but definitely not for getting complacent.”
Women’s 200 Back
Holly McGill booked lane four in 2:12.04 as 0.73 separated the first four women into the final. Niamh Ward will be in lane five after going 2:12.62 with Katie Shanahan and Honey Osrin – fifth and seventh at Paris 2024 respectively – next through in 2:12.70 and 2:12.77. It promises to be a real tussle in the final where the QT stands at 2:08.68.
